Hamden Teen Takes Gun To Middle School

HAMDEN — A 13-year-old local girl was charged with stealing her father's loaded Ruger 9mm handgun and taking it to school on Friday.

The girl later told police that after school, she gave the gun to a 13-year-old boy.

The theft came to the attention of police when the girl's father went to police headquarters about 9 p.m. Friday to report that his daughter had taken the gun, which was locked in the glove compartment of his vehicle.

The girl put the gun into her backpack, police said, and took it to Hamden Middle School. The girl kept the gun in her backpack throughout the day, then met the 13-year-old boy at the Church Street School playground and gave it to him, police said.

Hamden detectives and school resource officers gathered information, figured out the boy's address and went to his home to search for the gun.

They seized his backpack, which had the stolen Ruger in it.

Both 13-year-olds were arrested and released to their parents and ordered to appear in juvenile court in New Haven on Sept. 12.

The girl was charged with carrying a pistol without a permit, possession of a firearm on school grounds, theft of a firearm and illegal transfer of a pistol. The boy was charged with theft of a firearm and illegal transfer of a pistol.